It's sad but true that Japanese directors with big reputations abroad are often odd men (or women) out back home.
Juzo Itami won the hearts of Western audiences with his 1985 foodie comedy "Tampopo," but in the Japanese film industry he was considered an outsider from the world of television, where he had won fame as an actor and chat-show personality.
Shinya Tsukamoto became a cult hero worldwide for his ultraviolent cyberpunk fantasies, beginning with his 1989 breakout "Tetsuo" ("Tetsuo the Iron Man"). In Japan, though, he often struggled to get his films screened, while many of his industry peers regarded them as little more than freak shows.